Scarlet Dupion Silk Saree with Striped Pallu – Bhagalpuri Handloom

Palash

A clear scarlet body, and a pallu that changes the subject entirely — broad bands of marigold, bottle green, red and gold running across it, closed with a looped dark fringe. A fine gold zari line finishes both selvedges.

About the weave

Dupion silk is woven from double cocoons — two silkworms spinning together — which produces an irregular yarn with slubs running through it. It gives a crisp hand and a sharp, changeable lustre: it reflects rather than glows, and the slubs catch light in lines across the surface.

The pallu is woven in bands rather than printed, each stripe a separate dyed yarn carried across the width. Marigold and bottle green against scarlet is a village-fair palette, and it has been put together by someone who knew exactly what they were doing — the green is deep enough to hold the yellow down, and the thin gold line between the bands stops any two colours meeting raw.

What it's for

A saree for daylight and occasions with noise in them — a festival, a family lunch, a puja. Scarlet does not need jewellery and the pallu does not need a border.

Details

• Fabric: Dupion silk
• Colour: Scarlet with marigold, bottle green and gold
• Border: Fine gold zari line with a dark selvedge, both sides
• Pallu: Wide woven bands in marigold, green, red and gold, with a looped fringe
• Body: Plain scarlet
• Saree length: 5.5 m · Width: 1.10 m
• Blouse piece: 0.80 m, unstitched
• Package contains: 1 saree with blouse piece
• Wash care: Dry clean only

On handloom

Every metre of this saree passed through a pit loom worked by hand and foot. No motor is involved anywhere in the process — the weaver sets the pace, and the cloth carries that pace in it. Bhagalpur has been weaving silk this way for generations, and what comes off its looms does not resemble what comes off the looms at Varanasi or Chanderi. The yarn is different, the water is different, and so are the hands.

On colour and variation

These sarees are dyed in small lots and woven one at a time, so no two are alike — and no single piece is quite uniform from end to end. You may find the shade deepening a little along the length, a heavier slub where the yarn ran thick, or an edge that wanders by a thread. None of that is damage. Screens also render colour differently, so expect some drift from what you see here.